They also produce hormones and inflammatory substances. Visceral fat cells are especially active and produce even more inflammatory markers, such as IL-6, IL-1β, PAI-1 and TNF-α 4 , 5. Over time, these hormones can promote long-lasting inflammation and increase the risk of chronic disease 6 , 7 , 8 , 9.

One example of this is heart disease. Long-lasting inflammation may cause plaque to form inside the arteries, which is a risk factor for heart disease. Plaque is a combination of cholesterol and other substances. It grows larger over time and can eventually rupture.

When this happens, the blood in the arteries clots and either partially or completely blocks blood flow. In the coronary arteries, a clot can deprive the heart of oxygen and cause a heart attack It suggests that visceral fat releases inflammatory markers and free fatty acids that travel through the portal vein to the liver.

This may cause fat to build up in the liver and potentially lead to liver insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes 11 , Visceral fat may promote long-lasting inflammation, which in turn may increase the risk of chronic disease. Low-carb diets are an effective way to reduce visceral fat.

In fact, many studies have shown that low-carb diets are more effective at reducing visceral fat than low-fat diets 13 , 14 , 15 , Additionally, the ketogenic diet , which is a very low-carb diet, may also help reduce visceral fat Ketogenic diets drastically reduce carb intake and replace it with fat.

This can put you in a natural metabolic state called ketosis A study including 28 overweight and obese adults found that those who followed a ketogenic diet lost more fat, especially visceral fat, than people following a low-fat diet.

Interestingly, they did so while eating roughly more calories per day Low-carb diets are especially effective at reducing visceral fat. Studies show that a ketogenic diet may help reduce visceral fat as well.

Regular aerobic exercise is a great way to shed visceral fat. In fact, many studies have shown that aerobic exercise can help you lose visceral fat, even without dieting 18 , 19 , 20 , For example, an analysis of 15 studies in people compared how well different types of exercise reduced visceral fat without dieting.

They found that moderate and high-intensity aerobic exercises were most effective at reducing visceral fat without dieting That said, combining regular aerobic exercise with a healthy diet is more effective at targeting visceral fat than doing either one alone.

If you want to get started with aerobic exercise, start with brisk walking, jogging or running at least two to three times per week.

Aerobic exercise is especially effective at reducing visceral fat. Try combining it with a healthy diet to shed more visceral fat. Fiber can be divided into two broad categories — soluble and insoluble.

The soluble kind mixes with water to form a viscous gel-like substance. This helps slow down the delivery of digested food from the stomach to the intestines These fatty acids are a major source of nutrition for colon cells. For example, studies show that short-chain fatty acids help increase levels of fullness hormones, such as cholecystokinin, GLP-1 and PYY 23 , They can also help reduce levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin 25 , 26 , A study in 1, people found that simply increasing soluble fiber intake by 10 grams daily reduced the risk of visceral fat gain by up to 3.

To increase your fiber intake, try eating more flaxseeds, sweet potatoes, legumes and grains. You can also try taking a soluble fiber supplement. Eating more soluble fiber can help reduce visceral fat by suppressing your appetite and keeping gut bacteria healthy.

Try eating more soluble fiber-rich foods or taking a soluble fiber supplement. Protein is the most important nutrient for fat loss. Eating more protein can help fend off hunger by increasing levels of the fullness hormones GLP-1, PYY and cholecystokinin.

It can also help reduce levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin 29 30 , Studies have shown that protein can help boost your metabolism as well, which in turn promotes weight loss and visceral fat loss 32 , Additionally, many studies show that people who eat more protein tend to carry less visceral fat 34 , 35 , Eating more protein may help you lose weight and visceral fat.

Try eating more protein-rich foods to help reduce visceral fat. Added sugar is very unhealthy. Studies have also shown that people who eat more added sugar tend to have more visceral fat 37 , 38 , In large amounts, fructose can get turned into fat by the liver.

This may increase visceral fat storage 37 , 40 , For example, in a study in 41 children aged 9—18, scientists replaced fructose in their diets with starch that provided the same amount of calories.

They found that this simple change reduced liver fat by 3. You can reduce your added sugar intake by simply eating more whole foods, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, lean meats and fish. Added sugar is unhealthy and may increase visceral fat.

The same is true of a man whose waist measures 40 inches or more. Visceral fat levels should be under 13 on this scale. Anything above 13 on this scale means that a person will need to think about making immediate changes to their diet and lifestyle.

High levels of visceral fat can result in increased insulin resistance , which may lead to glucose intolerance and even type 2 diabetes. The dangers of storing excess visceral fat can be extreme and immediate, so it is essential to make diet and lifestyle changes as soon as possible as losing weight can help a person reduce their levels of visceral fat.

Exercise is an excellent way to reduce visceral fat. Stress can also play a role in storing excess visceral fat. Some doctors recommend that people with high levels of visceral fat try to reduce their stress levels.

Relaxation techniques, such as meditation, deep breathing, and other stress management tactics, can be beneficial and help a person lose visceral fat more efficiently. A healthful diet that is low in sugar laden, processed foods will also help a person lose weight and shift excess visceral fat.

A healthful diet should include:. Boiling, steaming, baking, and grilling foods will help to make meals healthier and lower in fat. A man with a waistline that measures 40 inches or more or a woman whose waistline measures 35 inches or more is likely to have stores of visceral fat.

Men and women who fall into these categories might want to make an appointment with a doctor to have levels of visceral fat measured, discuss potential risks, and get advice on how to make health and lifestyle changes to reduce visceral fat levels. Some doctors may carry out some blood and other tests, or refer individuals to a nutritionist or dietitian.

Visceral fat is fat that we cannot see, so it is not always easy to know whether a person has an excess of it. Because the associated health risks can be severe, it is essential for those who suspect their visceral fat levels are high to seek advice from a health professional.

Usually, it is possible to avoid high levels of visceral fat by leading a healthy and active lifestyle. Those who do store dangerous amounts of visceral fat can reduce their levels by making positive changes to their lifestyle.

Changes include eating a nutritious, low-fat diet, increasing the amount of exercise, and lowering stress levels. It is not possible to spot-reduce back fat.

If you lead a sedentary life you risk building up large amounts of visceral fat in your body. WHAT IS VISCERAL FAT? The timeframe varies from person to person. Healthy and sustainable fat loss typically occurs at a rate of pounds per week. It may take several weeks to months to see significant reductions in visceral fat.

Losing visceral belly fat quickly requires a combination of a calorie-controlled diet and regular physical activity. Focus on whole foods, limit processed items, engage in both cardio and strength training exercises, and prioritize consistency for effective and sustainable results.

A balanced diet that includes whole foods, lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats is key. Avoiding processed foods, sugary beverages, and excessive saturated fats can help. Some supplements may support fat loss, but they should complement a healthy diet and exercise regimen.

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When it comes to body fat, location counts, and each year brings new evidence that the fat lying deep within the abdomen is more perilous than the fat you can pinch with your fingers.

If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. It's found in the spaces surrounding the liver, intestines, and other organs. It's also stored in the omentum, an apron-like flap of tissue that lies under the belly muscles and blankets the intestines.

The omentum gets harder and thicker as it fills with fat. Although visceral fat makes up only a small proportion of body fat, it's a key player in a variety of health problems. As women go through their middle years, their proportion of fat to body weight tends to increase — more than it does in men — and fat storage begins favoring the upper body over the hips and thighs.

Even if you don't actually gain weight, your waistline can grow by inches as visceral fat pushes out against the abdominal wall. Visceral fat lies in the spaces between the abdominal organs and in an apron of tissue called the omentum. Subcutaneous fat is located between the skin and the outer abdominal wall.

Body fat, or adipose tissue, was once regarded as little more than a storage depot for fat blobs waiting passively to be used for energy. But research has shown that fat cells — particularly visceral fat cells — are biologically active. One of the most important developments [since the mids] is the realization that the fat cell is an endocrine organ, secreting hormones and other molecules that have far-reaching effects on other tissues.

Before researchers recognized that fat acts as an endocrine gland, they thought that the main risk of visceral fat was influencing the production of cholesterol by releasing free fatty acids into the bloodstream and liver. We now know that there's far more to the story.

Researchers have identified a host of chemicals that link visceral fat to a surprisingly wide variety of diseases. Subcutaneous fat produces a higher proportion of beneficial molecules, and visceral fat a higher proportion of molecules with potentially deleterious health effects.

Visceral fat makes more of the proteins called cytokines, which can trigger low-level inflammation, a risk factor for heart disease and other chronic conditions. It also produces a precursor to angiotensin, a protein that causes blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to rise.

A tape measure is your best home option for keeping tabs on visceral fat. Measure your waistline at the level of the navel — not at the narrowest part of the torso — and always measure in the same place. According to official guidelines, the bottom of the tape measure should be level with the top of the right hip bone, or ilium — see the illustration — at the point where the ilium intersects a line dropped vertically from the center of the armpit.

Don't suck in your gut or pull the tape tight enough to compress the area. In women, a waist circumference of 35 inches or larger is generally considered a sign of excess visceral fat, but that may not apply if your overall body size is large.

Rather than focus on a single reading or absolute cut-off, keep an eye on whether your waist is growing are your pants getting snug at the waist? That should give you a good idea of whether you're gaining unhealthy visceral fat. Visceral fat can be measured in a variety of ways.

CT scans and full-body MRIs are the most precise, but they are expensive and rarely available, so investigators often use estimates based on waist circumference or waist size in proportion to height see "Gut check".

To ensure that they're not just measuring overall obesity, researchers also check whether a person's waist circumference is higher than average for her or his body mass index BMI.

Cardiovascular disease. Several studies have documented this effect. For example, a large study of European women ages 45 to 79 concluded that those with the biggest waists and those with the largest waists in relation to their hip size had more than double the risk of developing heart disease.

The risk was still nearly double even after adjustment for several other risk factors, including blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and BMI. Higher visceral-fat volume also has a deleterious impact on several other heart disease risk factors. It's associated with higher blood pressure, blood sugar levels and triglyceride levels, and lower levels of HDL good cholesterol.

Taken together, these changes, known as metabolic syndrome, create a serious risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente found that people in their early 40s with the highest levels of abdominal fat, compared with those who had the least abdominal fat at that age, were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia including Alzheimer's disease by their mids to early 80s.

Dementia was not associated with increased thigh size. The risks were highest for women who were both large-waisted and overweight or obese. The investigators believe that belly fat raises the risk of asthma more than other poundage because it has inflammatory effects throughout the body, including in the airways.

Breast cancer. A combined analysis of several studies found that premenopausal women with abdominal obesity the largest waist size in proportion to their height were at greater risk for breast cancer.

Large waists were also linked to breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women, but that effect was not significant once BMI was taken into account. Colorectal cancer.

People with the most visceral fat have three times the risk of developing colorectal adenomas precancerous polyps than those with the least visceral fat. The relationship was found after many other risks were accounted for. The researchers also confirmed that adenomatous polyps in the colon are associated with insulin resistance, which may be the mechanism that increases the cancer risk.

Where you tend to gain fat depends on your genes, your hormones, your age, your birth weight smaller babies more readily add belly fat later in life , and whether you've had children women who have given birth tend to develop more visceral fat than women who haven't.

As young adults, women on average have less visceral fat than men, but that changes with menopause. You can't change your birth weight or your genes, and you can't hold off menopause. But there are several ways you can minimize the accumulation of visceral fat.

The good news is that because it's more readily metabolized into fatty acids, it responds more efficiently to diet and exercise than fat on the hips and thighs.

Here are some approaches that may help:. Keep moving. Exercise can help reduce your waist circumference. Even if you don't lose weight, you lose visceral belly fat and gain muscle mass.

Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days, such as brisk walking or bicycling at a casual pace. Also create opportunities to add motion to routine tasks. For example, park farther from your destination and walk the rest of the way, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and stand while you talk on the phone.

Studies have shown that you can help trim visceral fat or prevent its growth with both aerobic activity such as brisk walking and strength training exercising with weights. Spot exercises, such as sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles but won't get at visceral fat. Exercise can also help keep fat from coming back.

Eat right. Choose a balanced diet that helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Avoid products that seem to encourage belly fat deposition, especially simple sugars like fructose-sweetened foods and beverages.

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Medical News Today. Health Conditions Health Products Discover Tools Connect. What is the best way to get rid of visceral fat? Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M. Fast facts on visceral fat: Excess visceral fat can cause serious health problems. Exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes each day will help to burn visceral fat.

Having some body fat is perfectly healthy and normal. Was this helpful? How is visceral fat rated? Share on Pinterest Measuring the waist may help to determine how much visceral fat a person is carrying.

Risks and dangers of carrying visceral fat. How to get rid of visceral fat. Share on Pinterest Alongside strength training, doing cardiovascular exercise may help a person reduce their visceral weight. When to see a doctor. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations.

We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles.

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